Widow to regain custody of quarantined exotic animals

Thursday

May 3, 2012 at 12:01 AMMay 3, 2012 at 8:19 PM

Marian Thompson will get her exotic animals back tomorrow. Thompson, whose husband, Terry Thompson, released nearly 50 of the couple's lions, tigers and bears in October before killing himself, has fought since then to bring the five surviving animals back to her Zanesville farm.

Allison Manning, The Columbus Dispatch

Marian Thompson will get her exotic animals back tomorrow.

Thompson, whose husband, Terry Thompson, released nearly 50 of the couple’s lions, tigers and bears in October before killing himself, has fought since then to bring the five surviving animals back to her Zanesville farm.

Deputies killed 48 of the animals on Oct. 18 to protect the public. Six were never released by Thompson — a spotted leopard, black leopard, two Celebes macaques and a brown bear — and have been at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium under quarantine since then. The sixth animal, a spotted leopard, was euthanized after being crushed by a closing gate at the zoo.

On Monday, the state gave up its fight to keep the animals under quarantine, after the order expired.

Since then, Thompson, her veterinarian and the zoo’s veterinarian have been working out how to move the animals safely, said zoo spokeswoman Patty Peters. They must fast for 24 hours and be sedated for transfer.

One issue was finding crates that met the U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines. A forklift also is needed to move at least one of the crates.

The exchange will occur at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Peters said. She was unsure if Thompson would be paying for any costs associated with the transfer, or any of the animals’ care since October.

Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said he doesn’t have any particular plan for the animal’s return.

“We’ll do what we’ve done all along with this situation and before it happened, which is monitor the situation,” he said. “Upon the first complaint, we’ll respond to it as quick as possible.”